A variety of fan systems have been made and used over the years in a variety of contexts. For instance, various ceiling fans are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,284,960, entitled “Fan Blades,” issued Oct. 23, 2007; U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,821, entitled “Low Speed Cooling Fan,” issued Jun. 12, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,108, entitled “Cooling Fan with Reinforced Blade,” issued Sep. 6, 2005; and U.S. Pat. No. D607,988, entitled “Ceiling Fan,” issued Jan. 12, 2010. The disclosures of each of those U.S. patents are incorporated by reference herein. Additional exemplary fans are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2008/0008596, entitled “Fan Blades,” published Jan. 10, 2008; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2009/0208333, entitled “Ceiling Fan System with Brushless Motor,” published Aug. 20, 2009; and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2010/0278637, entitled “Ceiling Fan with Variable Blade Pitch and Variable Speed Control,” published Nov. 4, 2010, the disclosures of which are also incorporated by reference herein. It should be understood that teachings herein may be incorporated into any of the fans described in any of the above-referenced patents, publications, or patent applications. It should also be understood that a fan may include sensors or other features that are used to control, at least in part, operation of a fan system. For instance, such fan systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2009/0097975, entitled “Ceiling Fan with Concentric Stationary Tube and Power-Down Features,” published Apr. 16, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2009/0162197, entitled “Automatic Control System and Method to Minimize Oscillation in Ceiling Fans,” published Jun. 25, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2010/0291858, entitled “Automatic Control System for Ceiling Fan Based on Temperature Differentials,” published Nov. 18, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. Provisional Patent App. No. 61/165,582, entitled “Fan with Impact Avoidance System Using Infrared,” filed Apr. 1, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, any other suitable control systems/features may be used in conjunction with embodiments described herein.
Condensation will form on any object when the temperature of the object is at or below the dew point temperature of the air surrounding the object. This condensation can lead to many problems, such as dampness, surface degradation, mold growth, wood rot, corrosion or rust, or the like, any of which may require costly remediation. The occurrence of condensation is especially prevalent in areas that are not subject to being conditioned using typical HVAC systems, such as large industrial spaces, warehouses, or the like, as well as in areas with considerable amounts of ambient moisture (e.g., food processing, natatoriums, etc.) or that require high relative humidity (e.g., wine aging).
Accordingly, a need is identified for a manner of controlling the circulation of air in a space to help prevent the formation of condensation on one or more surfaces in the space. The system may evaluate the surface temperature of an object in the space and, based on the temperature of the surrounding air (which may be the dry bulb temperature, the dew point temperature, or trends for either), control the operation of a circulation device, such as a fan. Optional heating of the air could also be provided, as could the introduction of outdoor air in an effort to prevent condensation from forming.